FWIW it's probably not lack of interest per se. I personally quite often subscribe to threads I find interesting to follow the replies. However, if all I can add is "great post, thanks" I generally don't (although I will sometimes give a post a tactical bump if it's not getting any replies at all). Of course one of the problems I have is that for every good thread I spot and subscribe to, there are probably 5-10 more than I miss. Some of those might be ones I'm qualified to give a helpful reply to.
What it boils down to is that there's an impedance mismatch. Posts that take effort to create also take more effort to respond to and fewer people are qualified to do so meaningfully. Such threads are always going to go at a slower pace than "look at my new BLNR" types.
I think what we really need is another subforum that goes at a slower pace than WT does now, especially as the noise is getting louder.
I have thought for a while that perhaps the best idea would be to rename/repurpose WT and M&W, which have far too much overlap when it comes to technical topics. So WT would be "Watch Talk General" and M&W would become "Horology / Technical". Mods & Wreckers doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic these days, and the name has slightly negative connotations that I'm sure puts people like you off posting more competent watchmaking-related threads in there, even though it would probably be a better fit than WT. If things like movement service threads were always posted in one place, I'd certainly check that forum before the rest.
Or more accurately, what I'd probably do is go there once a week and check out any new threads, then subscribe to the ones that interest me and follow along as replies come in at their own pace. That would not change the fact that daily chitchat is basically split between WT and G&D. It's probably right that those forums dominate the "new posts" page (although I reiterate my suggestion that excluding BP results from there would probably make the forum a happier, friendlier place).
Furthermore, it shouldn't be limited to just technical watchmaking threads. We can say "Rolex posts" belong in WT, but surely there's an exception if Mike Wood decides to post an explanation of the difference between two rare milsubs? That's interesting, somewhat technical, and I think belongs in a
horology forum. Again apart from all the "really interesting, thanks" replies that such threads tend to attract if they get a bit of traction, these threads on obscure areas of horological history will tend to follow the same slow-paced response profile because of the small number of people qualified to contribute anything worthwhile.
One reason I haven't suggested this before is that I wasn't sure what would be a good alternative - it needs to be clear what separates the sub-forums. The problem with M&W right now is that the line is far too fuzzy, especially as modding is such a tiny niche nowadays. It's no good if that line just gets fuzzier and posts are split randomly between the two forums. I think "horology" is a good category, but people won't be clear on how that is different from "watch talk".
Just this morning I think I figured out a guideline to separate the two:
- Watch Talk General - Is for sharing and discussing opinions, speculation and general banter about watches
- Horology / Technical - Is for sharing and debating horological facts, both technical & historical
Under this regime, modding threads could potentially belong in either of these forums, depending on whether it's "look at my cool new Seiko 5 Fathoms mod" or a "here's how I modded my Seiko 5 Fathoms". I think those two examples would also (rightly) attract very different types of replies, and go at a different pace.
Thoughts?